The Dairy Free Diva Recipe Exchange

At the top of the Dairy Free Diva Recipe Exchange Site stands a whole lone of corralled cows cowed behind the universal big red slashing line that symbolized NO. No dairy. No meat. No processed cow effluvia.

Just recipes galore. Potato-Leek Breakfast Casserole. Cornmeal-Crusted Tempeh. Cashew Cheeze Spread. Spinach Fettuccine with Creamy Pesto Sauce. Vegan New England Chowder.

Click on any of the pictures of the foods,

like the Almond Sour Cream Coffee Cake

and you'll be taken to a long and detailed set of instructions.

Looks to be lots of amazing recipes. Please give them a try and come back and drop off a review.

Most Vegan Friendly College

OK, it's from PETA2, the younger-skewing and fortunately less batshit insane offshoot of PETA. But the competition doesn't see out to offend people with brains and sensibilities. It's a March Madness-like playoff for the Most Vegan Friendly College.

Does your college have faux-chicken drumsticks that would put any side salad to shame? How about a soy ice-cream bar? Or veggie sushi, made to order? Schools on our Most Vegan-Friendly Colleges list do! Check out all the tasty vegan options that our top schools offer and then vote for your favorite to help us decide who will get the prestigious title of peta2's Most Vegan-Friendly College!

Round 1: The competition is underway! Choose carefully, as these top schools battle it out head-to-head, fighting for the title of Most Vegan-Friendly College in the country! Voting for round 1 ends October 18. Winners will be announced November 19, so cast your vote to help us decide who will win!

Round 2: Voting for round 2 ends October 25. Winners will be announced November 19, so cast your vote to help us decide who will win!

Round 3: Voting for round 3 ends November 1. Winners will be announced November 19, so cast your vote to help us decide who will win!

Round 4: Voting for round 4 ends November 8. Winners will be announced November 19, so cast your vote to help us decide who will win!

Round 5: Voting for round 5 ends November 15, and winners will be announced November 19, so cast your vote to help us decide who will win!

Instructions: Select your favorite large U.S. school in each matchup by clicking on the button next to the logo. Be sure to fill out the form at the bottom of the page and hit "Submit" to make sure your vote comes through to help us pick the contenders. And don't forget to vote for small U.S. schools and Canadian schools too!

Crains Cleveland Business has a squib on the healthy competition.

Kent State University and Oberlin College are among the schools in contention for the most vegan-friendly college competition sponsored by peta2, the young adult arm of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

At Kent State this fall, "dining services is working alongside students to unveil a new vegan-friendly menu with dozens of delectable dishes, including Alpine vegan chicken casserole, vegan stuffed green peppers, and dairy-free chocolate ice cream," peta2 notes.

The group says Oberlin "is among the most vegan-friendly schools in the nation and has been for years. Tofu and red pepper stir-fry with quinoa, Creole-style vegan jambalaya, and vegan gumbo are just a few of the dozens of premier vegan options to be found at this top liberal arts school."

Sounds good, sounds tasty, sounds healthy, and doesn't sound batshit insane. A real step up for PETA.

UK Dairy Free Chocolate

Neandra Etienne taste-tested a variety of dairy-free chocolates available in stores or on line in the UK for The Collective Review.

I'm not going to give you the whole reviews, because that would be copying too much. However, here are the chocolates cited and their websites. For Etienne's opinions, visit the page linked above.

Dairy Free
www.dairy-free.co.uk


Rococo Chocolates
www.rococochocolates.com


Seed Stacked Flapjack
www.seedstacked.com



Chocolala
www.chocolala.co.uk







Freefrom
www.sainsburys.co.uk/freefrom

History of the Food Pyramid

I started my website, Steve Carper's Lactose Intolerance Clearinghouse, back in 1997. (And don't say that it looks it. It doesn't. It looks like the 1998 version. So there.)

That was several generations ago in internet terms. I was on Compuserve even earlier. Compared to the hordes that crowd the net now, I'm an oldbie.

Yet there are still many things that I never understand. Like why a history of the U.S. Food Pyramid would appear on an Australian blog site. (Which means it's dated tomorrow as I write this. How's that for breaking news!)

It's a pretty good history, though. Worth the read. Lots of pictures to help it go down.

And some relevance to those who are lactose intolerant.

In theory, we digest and process food in the same ways, but a lot of us have allergies and dietary restrictions. Whether your restrictions are voluntary or not, you probably have to substitute a normal item you find on the food group pyramid for something else. It's important to remember that substitutes can have a major difference in nutritional value and to know what those differences are. Let's take lactose intolerance and milk as an example. If you're replacing milk, your most obvious choices are soy milk and rice milk. Rice milk has significantly higher levels of carbohydrates than regular milk, and soy milk often has a lot of sugar added (not always the case, but it's always worth checking first). If you don't eat meat and are looking at substitutes, many of them have a very high sodium content that you wouldn't find in actual meat. This isn't necessarily worse; it's just different. It's important to be aware of the differences in substitutions and not assume you're getting the exact same nutrients you'll find in the item it was designed to replace.

Scream Sorbet

Sorbet is slowly becoming more popular. A few good restaurants would offer a selection of sorbets after a meal, yielding an intensely fruity treat that needed only a few bites to satisfy. Sorbets are big tastes, a sipper's delight rather than a gulper's. Brandies are less popular than beer, too.

With dairy-free desserts inching their way into the general market, sorbets are due. And new food processing technologies are making possible sorbets that go beyond fruit tastes into the weirder world that high end ice creams are also pursuing.

The New York Times Magazine - which did an article a few weeks ago on a man who made hibiscus beet, bourbon and cornflake, prosciutto, and chocolate smoked sea salt ice creams - has followed it up with one on a man who figured out a way to make nut-based sorbets.

Making frozen treats is as much about composition as it is equipment. "In some ways," [Nathan] Kurz says, "the other reason I started this business was that I’d been reading about El Bulli and how they were using Pacojets. Some people lust after cars, I lusted after kitchen machinery." Basically, he let a $4,000 gadget determine his fate. (He advises everyone to read about the process to understand this seemingly rash decision.) "Normally, you make ice cream in a batch freezer," he explains. "You freeze the outside and scrape along the outside as it [the ice cream] freezes. It's the same as the hand-churned thing you use at home, and it works great, if what you’re starting with is already smooth."

The Pacojet is simpler: "It doesn't include refrigeration, and part of its process is to make things silky smooth." It's true. You can add whole nuts and fruits to this machine and "still end up with a silky smooth texture." As he explains the process, "you freeze your sorbet chunky first in a one-quart container. Then the blade spins around; it goes from the top of the round cylinder down to the bottom at a rate of several thousand R.P.M. It takes four minutes to process."

He discovered that using a Pacojet meant he could add less sugar to his sorbet and yield more intensity from his main ingredient. His approach goes against everything that McGee and others who rely on the traditional methods counsel. They encourage adding water (to achieve the required puree that Kurz's equipment renders unnecessary), then lemon juice (to draw out the diluted product's weakened flavor) and finally more sugar (to compensate for all that extra volume). "We don’t add anything unless it tastes good," he says; that means they also won’t add anything that tastes like nothing, such as a stabilizer. The Scream stuff is thicker than other sorbets and made from fewer ingredients. With higher fruit content and no additives, it has the texture of gelato but is more concentrated in flavor.

His pistachio sorbet contains pistachios, water, sugar, and sea salt. Nothing else.

You won't find it everywhere, but a variety of farmers' markets in northern California carry it and he will soon open a storefront in Oakland, CA.

More importantly, he ships anywhere Federal Express offers overnight service.

Lactose Intolerants a Possible Market for Dairy

Lactose-free milk is the one dairy product that sells well. Lactose-free ice creams exist, and so do lactose-free cottage cheeses and sour creams, but they are the tiniest of niche products.

Even so, the amount of lactose-free milk isn't anywhere near proportional to the percentage of lactose intolerant people in the U.S. And the dairy industry thinks that this is an opportunity.

The Innovation Center for US Dairy issued a white paper saying that this is "an opportunity to achieve 273 million gallons of incremental growth by targeting the lactose intolerant consumer segment."

"Our extensive consumer research and analysis found that 81 percent of lactose intolerant consumers would be willing to include dairy in their diets if they could do so while minimizing symptoms," said Jim Layne, vice president of strategic initiatives with Dairy Management Inc.™ "This shows that a solid opportunity exists to meet the health and enjoyment needs of this market segment with nutrient-rich dairy foods. ...

"There is a solution to lactose intolerance that is not avoidance or restriction,” Layne said. "Increasing consumption of dairy in the lactose intolerant consumer segment could help grow long-term loyalty, generation after generation, totaling 2.35 billion pounds of incremental growth."

Like any good research marketing firm, the Innovation Center folks broke down the market and into target segments.

The four segments below offer the most significant growth opportunities for lactose-free milk and dairy.

Healthy Wealthy consumers make up 20 percent of the lactose intolerant segment. People in this group tend to be college-educated, employed and health-conscious. They are considered milk-friendly, but don’t drink a lot — preferring 1 percent to whole milk — and only 44 percent consider milk to be a healthy choice. Reinforcing the benefits of dairy would be a strong approach for this group. Lactose-free milk and dairy recipes may appeal to them.

Family Milk Lovers constitute 20 percent of the lactose intolerant segment. Two-thirds female, and generally married, this group includes family milk consumption “gatekeepers.” They associate milk with health, enjoyment and taste, and shy away from lactose-free due to cost and its different taste. Messages showing lactose-free milk as a whole-family solution may resonate with this group.

Avoiders represent 20 percent of lactose intolerant consumers. More likely to suffer from gastrointestinal disorders, obesity and high cholesterol, this group is the least likely to have tried lactose-free foods. They are open to dairy solutions, and good-tasting lactose-free milk and milk products may succeed with these consumers.

Aware and Managing consumers represent just 14 percent of the lactose intolerant segment. As the oldest market segment, nearly one-fourth is retired. They are the most likely to have their lactose intolerance diagnosed by a physician and to drink lactose-free milk. Their awareness and symptom management allows them to enjoy dairy, but they also are experimenting with alternatives such as soy. There is room to increase loyalty with this group.

Enjoy dairy yourself... if your only issue is lactose intolerance.

You can email them at InnovationCenter@USDairy.com for a copy of the white paper, "Lactose Intolerance: Opportunity to Grow Volume for Dairy through Dispelling Myths and Meeting Consumer Needs."

Chocolate World Expo

Chocolate. More chocolate. Even more chocolate.

Sound good?

With over 50 vendors, Chocolate World Expo is one of the largest retail chocolate shows in the U.S. Let's pretend that this article from the Hudson Valley Press is something other than a press release masquerading as news.

Record numbers of chocolate lovers and foodies from near and far are expected at the upcoming Chocolate World Expo, which returns to the Westchester County Center in White Plains, on Sunday, November 7th, from 11 a.m. until 6 p.m. Visitors will have a chance to taste, purchase, celebrate and otherwise indulge in delicious gourmet chocolates, as well as a wonderful array of baked goods, specialty foods, ice cream, cheeses, wines and much more at the show. ...

To suit a variety of other dietary needs and tastes, certain vendors will also feature all-natural, organic, raw, vegan, fair trade, dairy-free, gluten-free, sugar-free, low-glycemic, kosher and/or ethnic-style choices.

Chocolate.

Smart Balance Adds Another Lactose-Free Milk

Late last year I told you about the line of Smart Balance lactose-free products.

Their lactose-free fat-free milk with omega-3s was just rolling out at that point. I guess it was a success. Not only is it now available nationwide, but they've introduced a companion lactose-free milk. Here's the press release.

Smart Balance, Inc. is launching Smart Balance™ Lactose-Free Fat Free and Calcium milk, the latest addition to its popular line of enhanced milks and innovative heart healthier products. ...

Like all of the fat free milks in the Smart Balance line of enhanced milks, the lactose-free milks have the rich, creamy taste of 2% without the saturated fat. Our new Smart Balance™ Lactose-Free Fat Free and Calcium milk has 75% more calcium and 20% more protein than whole milk. The added calcium is great for those who avoid dairy and have a hard time getting enough calcium for healthy bones.

Also available nationwide is Smart Balance™ Lactose-Free Fat Free and Omega-3s milk, which has the added benefits of Omega-3s as well as 20% more protein and 20% more calcium than regular milk. It provides an excellent source of heart-healthy EPA/DHA Omega-3s (32 mg per serving, 20% of the 160 mg daily value).

Caribbean Vegan

Caribbean Vegan: Meat-Free, Egg-Free, Dairy-Free Authentic Island Cuisine for Every Occasion, by Taymer Mason is brand-new, it's publication date being today, presumably the day when everybody in the north starts longing for that Caribbean vacation.

Product Description
Here is your passport to a world of distinctive, unforgettable food—125 delicious, authentic vegan recipes that showcase flavors and ingredients from across the Caribbean islands

If “Caribbean cuisine” makes you think of pineapples and coconuts, you’re missing out. The Caribbean islands are home to a rich cooking tradition that combines African, French, Spanish, British, Asian, and Indian influences, adds an unmistakable local flair . . . and tastes like paradise. A real secret is in the herbs and spices—with the right uncooked sauce, cooked sauce, or “wet seasoning” blend, you can transform everyday ingredients into Caribbean delights.

Caribbean Vegan will spice up your vegan diet like no other cookbook. Popular blogger Taymer Mason serves up 125 completely vegan recipes—for breakfast dishes, appetizers, entrées, sides, soups, desserts, and drinks that are anything but bland. Sample the local flavors of Barbados, Saint Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, Grenada, and the French West Indies with:

Saint Lucian Bakes
Eggplant and Seaweed Accras
Bajan Soup with Dumplings
Rummy Rum and Raisin Ice Cream . . . and much more!

Enticing color photos and Island Tips explain the key ingredients, equipment, and techniques of Caribbean cuisine—so whatever your previous familiarity with Caribbean food, you’ll be cooking like an islander in no time.

About the Author
Taymer Mason grew up in a family of cooks who taught her to make—and love!—traditional Caribbean cuisine. She went vegan in 2006 while an undergraduate at the University of the West Indies and discovered that, far from being limiting, it was an exciting new way to cook her old favorites. Now she writes the popular cooking blog Vegan in the Sun. She lives with her husband and their cat in the French West Indies, but she appreciates the unique culture and cuisine of all the islands—and especially of her birthplace, Barbados.

Honestly, I originally read that as "Taymer Mason grew up in a family of cooks who taught her to make love! using traditional Caribbean customs." I'm a very bad person.

The Experiment trade paperback
256 pages
List price: $18.95

The Gluten-Free Girl Is Back ... and Married

Hey remember the blogger Shauna James Ahern, the Gluten-Free Girl?

She's been busy since I wrote about her. She's continued her blog, gor married, and now has a cookbook out with her husband. In hardcover no less, Gluten-Free Girl and the Chef, by Shauna James Ahern and Daniel Ahern.

Product Description
The first cookbook from the author of Gluten-Free Girl and GlutenFreeGirl.com

Combining tempting recipes with an authentic love story, Gluten-Free Girl and the Chef is a narrative cookbook for anyone who loves food.

A must-have for those who need to eat gluten-free, this cookbook offers irresistible stories and plenty of mouth-watering meals. From the authors of the much-loved food blog, Gluten-Free Girl and the Chef, the book includes evocative photos, cooking techniques, and 100 chef-tested recipes that are sure to give joy in the belly.

•Illustrates the working day of a talented chef and what he does to put delicious food on the plate
•Contains great-tasting recipes that everyone can cook and eat
•Meant to be read cover to cover

Gluten-Free Girl and the Chef inspires anyone who has to eat gluten-free to say yes to the food he or she can eat.

Wiley Hardback
288 pages
List Price: $29.95

Animal Glandular Products

"Search" is the most amazing aspect of the Internet. Forget about YouTube or FailBlog. It's when you enter terms into Search that you find the things that prove that solipsism can't be true. Your mind could never invent these, so it's impossible that the universe is a figment of your imagination.

Don't believe me? Then believe your eyes. I present Animal Glandular Products: Milk, Camel, Infant Formula, Lactose Intolerance, Ambergris, Chocolate Milk, Lanolin, Dairy Farming, Milkshake.

Milkshake?

Product Description
Chapters: Milk, Camel, Infant Formula, Lactose Intolerance, Ambergris, Chocolate Milk, Lanolin, Dairy Farming, Milkshake, United States Raw Milk Debate, Breast Pump, Asses' Milk, Condensed Milk, Bulk Tank, Lactation, 1933 Wisconsin Milk Strike, Fat Content of Milk, Musk, Victor Horsley, Egg Cream, Gerber Method, Ultra-High-Temperature Processing, Buttermilk, Powdered Milk, Whey, Evaporated Milk, Milking Pipeline, Osteoblast Milk Protein, Castoreum, Moose Milk, Lactagen, Milk Float, Milk Paint, A2 Milk, Frijj, Curd, Coffee Milk, Cow Blowing, Malted Milk, Milkman, Flavored Milk, Lactofree, Babcock Test, Ocean of Milk, Sheep Milk, Milkmaid, Maine's Own Organic Milk Company, Buffalo Curd, F-100, Doogh, Strawberry Milk, Unistraw, Ymer, Babycino, Milk Marketing Board, Ambrein, Whey Acidic Protein, Ginger Milk Curd, Baked Milk, Scalded Milk, Channel Island Milk, Microfoam, Milk Basic Protein, Ultrafiltered Milk, Chaas, Special Milk Program, Soda Sữa Hột Gà, Vanilla Milk, Milk Protein Concentrate, Utilization Rates, Vio, Steamer, Ox Gall, Agglutinin, Lactometer.

Frijj?

It's a brand name of milkshake. And the madness comes full circle.

Available at BooksLLC.net

PDF download
336 pages
Reprinted: 2010, General Books, Memphis, Tennessee, USA
List price: $9.99

Primal Blueprint Cookbook

The Stone Age Diet is like the DC Comics villian, Vandal Savage, an immortal remnant of the paleolithic that just keeps coming back.

The latest booster is Mark Sisson, another self-invented fitness guru, whose blog and website boosts the Primal Blueprint.

And there is a Primal Blueprint Cookbook as well.

The popularity of the low carb/paleo/Primal way of eating has exploded, as people discover an appealing and sustainable alternative to the restrictive diets and flawed conventional wisdom that lead to burnout and failed weight loss efforts. Until now, high-quality cookbooks written for this growing community simply haven't existed. The dream of eating satisfying meals—even on a budget—controlling weight and feeling great has now become a reality. Make your transition to Primal eating easy and fun with this innovative cookbook from Primal Blueprint author Mark Sisson, and acclaimed chef/food writer/photographer Jennifer Meier. Included are over 100 mouth-watering recipes with easy-to-follow instructions and nearly 400 brilliant, glossy, full-color photographs to guide and inspire you to cooking and eating Primally.

Convenience: Save time with intuitive recipe steps, easy navigation, and great visual support. Find recipes quickly in the following categories: Meat, Offal, Fowl, Seafood, Vegetables, Eggs, Primal Substitutes, Marinades, Sauces and Dressings, Desserts, Beverages.

Effortless Weight Loss: As detailed in the Primal Blueprint, losing excess body fat is all about insulin. Regulate insulin production by eliminating grains and sugars and you will lose weight, even if you don't exercise much or are cursed with the "fat gene". Easier said than done, right? Well, the Primal Blueprint cookbook shows you how to transition from great American grain-based diet to a Primal diet featuring meat, seafood, fowl, vegetables, fruits, nuts, and seeds. All of these Primal recipes have a naturally low glycemic impact, keeping your insulin levels—and thus your waistline—in check.

No Pasta, No Bread, No Rice, No Beans, No Kidding!: As you build momentum for Primal eating, you'll find that you won't even miss the bland, boring, low-fat foods that previously were the central focus of your diet. How can you argue with a menu that includes Roasted Leg of Lamb with Herbs and Garlic, Salmon Chowder with Coconut Milk, Tomatoes Stuffed with Ground Bison and Eggs, and Baked Chocolate Custard? This isn’t a crash course diet. These and the other Primal recipes provide the foundation for a lifetime of healthy eating, high energy and protection from common health problems that arise from eating SAD (Standard American Diet).

Primal Nutrition, Inc. Hardcover
278 pages
List price: $29.99

The Wild Vegan Cookbook

The Wild Vegan Cookbook: A Forager's Culinary Guide (in the Field or in the Supermarket) to Preparing and Savoring Wild (and Not So Wild) Natural Foods, by "Wildman" Steve Brill.

OK, who reading that immediately leapt to the thought that the book was published by Harvard Common Press? No, you didn't. Put your hand down.

Not that the publisher has anything to do with the University. It puts out cookbooks and parenting guides. Still.

Anyway, here's what it says about the Wildman:

Leading American foraging expert “Wildman” Steve Brill has been guiding foraging tours in and around New York City since 1982. He has appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman and Today, and has been profiled in numerous publications, including The New York Times.

Claire Hopley of the Amherst Bulletin has this to say about the huge book.

At 445 pages plus a lengthy section of tables and weights and measures, this book is quite a tome, and readers new to foraging will be amazed at how much there is out there that we can eat. OK we know about mushrooms and crab apples and wild blueberries; we know there are fiddleheads in the spring and blackberries in the fall. But who knew about Curly Dock and Wineberries? Who knew that daylily and cattail shoots were edible, or where to find wild cabbage or knotweed -- the latter described as "one of the premier wild foods of Spring?" Who knew that common spicebush berries taste like allspice?

This book is an encyclopedia of answers to these questions, and also a fascinating compendium of recipes. You don't actually have to go out and gather stuff from the wayside -- often you can buy or grow cultivated forms -- but this being the season for wild mushrooms, you may want to check out the many mushroom recipes.

Harvard Common Press trade paperback
528 pages
List price: $27.95

The book was originally published in hardcover as The Wild Vegetarian Cookbook.

Gluten-Free Recipes for the Conscious Cook

Claire Hopley in the Amherst Bulletin wrote about several new cookbooks that included a couple I thought I'd pass along.

One is Gluten-Free Recipes for the Conscious Cook: A Seasonal, Vegetarian Cookbook, "by Shutesbury author and culinary teacher Leslie Cerier. ... [R]eaders will enthuse about a book that introduces an array of appetizing recipes that use grains that lack gluten: amaranth, buckwheat, corn, millet, oats, quinoa, rice, sorghum, teff, and wild rice."

Gluten-free is not the same as dairy-free, of course, but many people with celiac disease also develop lactose intolerance, so there is an overlap between our populations and usually an overlap in recipes.

Product Description
A gluten-free diet can help you feel more energetic, improve digestion, aid in weight loss, and dramatically improve the symptoms of many mental and physical health disorders. It's no wonder that more and more people, both with wheat allergies and without, are discovering the health benefits of going gluten-free. In Gluten-Free Recipes for the Conscious Cook, Leslie Cerier, 'The Organic Gourmet,' presents over 100 remarkably delicious recipes for easy-to-make, gluten-free, vegetarian meals. You'll learn to create delectable, high-protein breakfasts, dinners, desserts, and more, use organic and seasonal ingredients to put a fresh twist on your favorite family recipes, and come up with your own original gluten-free creations.

• Whip up tasty grab-and-go meals and snacks
• Get tips for using organic and seasonal ingredients to make gluten-free food even more delicious
• Enjoy pancakes and waffles, casseroles, pastas, and pastries-all made without gluten
• Get creative with the wealth of recipe variations and ideas in this book

From the Publisher
'The Green Chef,' Leslie Cerier, presents Gluten-Free Recipes for the Conscious Cook, a vegetarian cookbook filled with recipes for gluten-free, delicious meals the whole family can enjoy. The book includes tips on seasonal cooking, adapting family recipes to accommodate celiac disease, and incorporating wholesome organic ingredients for optimal nutrition.

New Harbinger Publications trade paperback
223 pages
List price: $17.95

Another False Milk Claim

Another unique characteristic of Ronnybrook milk is that it's unhomogenized. Instead, the cream that naturally rises to the top of a glass jug of milk remains there, unless you decide to shake it up. The result, Osofsky explained, is milk that the body can more easily digest, especially for people who typically have trouble digesting lactose.

"We have a lot of families that drink our milk because they're lactose intolerant," he said.

The quote comes from an article by Jaclyn Bruntfield in the Harrison Patch.

The article is terrible for our purposes because Bruntfield never bothers to say whether the milk is "raw," i.e. unpasteurized, a claim that is often made - totally wrongly, in my estimation - for milk drinkable by those with lactose intolerance.

If possible, a claim that unhomogenized milk is safer for those with LI is even wronger.

Ignore it at your peril.

Living Without Magazine Catches National Buzz

I've done a couple of mentions of Living Without magazine. It bills itself as the "magazine for people allergies and food sensitivities," which I assume is most of you reading this. Check out that link to their website for lots of recipes and other information.

The Washington Post has finally caught up to our world. A recent Health Scan column was about food allergies. A recent - but not the most recent - issue of Living Without got featured.

"Living Without," August/September issue

"Living Without," a magazine with a sad name, is for people with food allergies and sensitivities. The current issue features an interview with celebrity chef Ming Tsai, who owns the Boston-area restaurant Blue Ginger and serves as a national spokesman for the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network. When Tsai's 10-year-old son, David, was an infant, he tested positive for dairy, wheat, soy, egg, shellfish, nut and peanut allergies. "When your child has life-threatening food allergies, it's your number-one concern," Tsai says. "It affects everything." David's diagnosis made allergy awareness Tsai's calling, he says; Blue Ginger provides diners with detailed ingredient lists of every dish.

I don't understand why a national newspaper is so far behind the times. The new October/November issue is already out. If you want to take a look at its content, visit that page on their website. Some of the articles are only available to subscribers, but others, like the Spooky Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, Egg-Free Treats recipe are free to all.

Food Channel's Top 10 Snack Trends of 2010

At the same moment in a food world that features larger and larger meals - I heard something about a pizza-sized hamburger that I'm trying my best to ignore - the trend toward "healthier" foods - or least foods that can be marketed as healthier - runs on a loud parallel track.

Will real people in the real world actually switch over to snack foods that are healthy? Oh, a few will, and always have, but the majority? Not if history is a guide.

But that's the trend of the year, or so says the Food Channel. The website of the National Association of Convenience Stores naturally has a huge vested interest in the subject. And that's where I found this report.

The Food Channel has posted its Top 10 Snack Trends of 2010, based on research conducted by channel in conjunction with CultureWaves, the International Food Futurists and Mintel International. Here are the trends shaping how Americans snack.


1. Chip and Dip. The desire for change has morphed into a new array of artisanal chip-and-dip choices, such as hummus and falafel chips.

2. Small and Sensational. “Grazing is the new snacking,” the Food Channel said.

3. The Drink Shift. This trend encompasses the bevy of beverages made with fruit or antioxidants. Drinks have shifted away from colas and energy drinks to teas, lemonades, fruity organic waters and carbonated fruit drinks.

4. Goin’ Nuts. Nuts have been paired with granola and fruits, as well as appearing solo as smoked and salted. With more emphasis on how good nuts are for you, more people are grabbing a handful for snacking.

5. Fruits: The Low Hanging Snack. Fruit is noshed on fresh, dried and freeze-dried. New types of fruits have become trendy, such as the Amazon açai fruit. Fresh fruit is now the number one snack among kids aged 2 to 17.

6. Cruising the Bars. Granola bars have come out in a wide variety, such as dairy-free, gluten-free, non-GMO, organic, soy-free, cholesterol-free, trans-fat-free, and casein-free.

7. Sweet and Salty. Recently, snacks have embraced the sweet and salty all in one bite.

8. Yogurt, Redefined. International flavors, such as Greek yogurt, and the added value of probiotics has made yogurt new and exciting as a snack.

9. Bodaciously Bold. The spicier, the better for some snacks. Bland is out and bold is definitely in.

10. Nostalgia’s New Again. Old standbys like Snack Cakes, Hostess Twinkie, Ding Dongs, TastyKake, and Little Debbies have found new life these days.

Notice that dairy-free granola bars and lower-lactose Greek yogurt are on the list. That's about all the support we get. Well, that and fruits. Fruit is dairy-free, gluten-free, vegan, and have all sorts of natural nutrients that as yet can't be found in pill form.

Fruit. The original snack food.

Top 50 Allergy Blogs. Guess Who's Number Five

What's the banner line under my title? "The latest news on avoiding dairy products if you are lactose intolerant, have milk allergies, are a vegan, or want to keep kosher."

I mean that. I don't concentrate on allergies specifically, but I try to provide as much information as I can gather specifically on dairy allergies and generally on food allergies that have info for those who want to avoid dairy.

That's why it was such a pleasant surprise to named one of the 50 Best Food Allergy Blogs by Nursing Schools.net.

Here's what they had to say, and the listing of their first five.

The following blogs, listed in no particular order, have lent their voices to the community at large as a means of shedding light on the undeniably challenging trials they must face. With deeply personal stories, recipes, research and commentary, they take to the web and find ways to quell the suffering of those for whom gluten/wheat, dairy, eggs, corn, soy, seafood, tree nuts, peanuts and much more may mean anything from short-term illness to death. Their perseverance, strength and sociopolitical efforts ought not go ignored or brushed aside.

However, please do not take the statements here as medical fact. What works in one patient may not necessarily prove worthwhile for another's needs. Nothing replaces expert consultation with a medical professional the blogs here merely provide support and suggestions.

1. The Food Allergy Queen

Kishari Sing loves food, even working as a caterer for a while. Unfortunately, she also suffers from a number of different allergies including rice, soy, tomatoes, garlic, wheat, tree nuts and much more. But she has applied her creativity and culinary experience to creating excellent recipes for others in her situation, and The Food Allergy Queen is essential reading because of it.

2. Food Allergy Assistant

Food Allergy Assistant provides detailed information on life with various food allergies, with plenty of resources available on support groups, coaches, recipes and more.

3. Please Don't Pass the Nuts

A social worker who both suffers from and works with food allergies keeps an absolutely essential blog about maneuvering through life saddled with such conditions. Anyone with any sort of food-related allergy or asthma needs to bookmark or subscribe immediately.

4. Allergy Moms

Parents of children with strict food allergies band together to exchange ideas, information and recipes to keep them as safe and healthy as possible. Be sure to check out the rest of the website as well!

5. Planet Lactose

Planet Lactose Publishing specializes in dairy-free, kosher and vegan cookbooks for anyone with staunch dietary restrictions. They keep a great blog to inform readers of their latest offerings.

If you're coming here from that blog and reading me for the first time, let me stress that I do much more than point you to the new cookbooks that you might want to check out. I list new dairy-free and lactose-free foods, report on clinical testing and new allergy symptom relief testing, correct mistakes made by overenthusiastic or overcredulous websites, and generally keep my eye open for anything and everything that you need to know.



I am an information provider. I don't review or do tastings or create recipes. Those other blogs on the list do a great job of that, I'm sure. My role is unique. I make sure that you get correct, up-to-date, factual treatments of critical issues. I'm not kind to those who don't live up to those standards. I've been writing about lactose intolerance and related issues for a quarter century, so I have a huge depth of experience to draw on.

I also have a website, Steve Carper's Lactose Intolerance Clearinghouse. I've pretty much stopped updating it since it was so much easier to post new information here in blog form. Even so, there are over 100 pages of information on it, and much of it is still as good as the day I started the site in the ancient era of 1997. Most of it's a lot newer, of course. You'll find many pages on books and dairy-free products there that can't be found in a single place elsewhere.

Want more? There's my gigantic book of earlier blog postings, revised and updated and sorted into convenient categories, at Planet Lactose Publishing.

And please stop back here again. I'll have something new and delightfully interesting for you to read.

Lactose-Free Milk in Denmark

Dairy Markets has a short squib up on its site that should be good news for my Danish readers.

Arla Foods has launched a lactose-free milk in Denmark, the first in a new line of lactose-free dairy products.

Official estimates suggest that between 3% and 6% of Danes suffer from lactose intolerance. But the product will also be aimed at those who think they have a problem and have therefore opted for non-dairy alternatives.

Arla is the huge UK manufacturer of Lactofree milk.

I can't find any additional information on this new Danish product. But let's face it. When you market a product who think they need it but don't really, the state of information about lactose intolerance is beyond nuts into surreal.

Lacidofil May Help Milk Allergy Symptoms

I try to be very skeptical of claims of allergy symptom relief from commercial products. Very few of them involve serious clinical testing of the product. When I see a favorable test, therefore, I have to pay attention. The makers of Lacidofil, a probiotic, put the product to a trial of real children with atopic dermatitis (AD) from milk allergy and it appears to have worked better than a topical cream.

The report of the conference paper can be found at NutraIngredients.com.

Researchers on a new study by Institut Rosell-Lallemand have reported that its Lacidofil probiotic supplement may reduce the severity of atopic dermatitis (AD) in children when used with a topical emollient, and increase antibodies against cow’s milk allergen IgG4. ...

The company set out to test its probiotic Lacidofil in young children with AD and cow’s milk allergy. The results of the study, led by Dr Chernyshov of Ukraine’s Medical University, were presented at the Joint International Symposium New Trends in Allergy VII and the 6th Rajka Symposium on Atopic Dermatitis in Munich last month.

The company says the study involved 58 children under the age of four years. All the children were treated with emollient cream and a bath preparation, while 30 also received one Lacidofil capsule a day for a month. The other 18 received a placebo.

The Lacidofil capsule contains a combination of Lactobacillus Rosell-11 and Lactobacillus Rosell-52 strains, and about 2 billion probiotic bacteria in total.

Dr Chernyshov used the SCORAD index to assess severity of AD, and also measured immunological parametres at day 0 and day 30.

Sixty three per cent of the children taking the probiotics were seen to have a marked reduction in AD severity, compared to 32.1 per cent of those in the placebo group.

Not only did those taking the probiotic tend to use less steroid cream, but those who used none at all also saw a reduction in AD severity.

A significant decrease of T-cells potentially associated with AD was observed, as well as an increase in IgG4, a subtype of antibodies directed against cow milk allergen and considered a marker for immune tolerance.

"Emollients and probiotics have different modes of action and could be combined with each other and with other medications in AD patients. Solutions with potential steroid-sparing effect in AD patients are extremely important," the company quotes the researchers as saying.

Lactofil is made by Xymogen.